09112018-TTC-01.qxd 11/9/2018 1:10 AM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | jammu | srinagar | vol.2 no.309 | 16 pages | ~4.50 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 | friday, november 9,2018 TWO YEARS ON, JAITLEY DEFENDS DeMo PAGE 7 EX-MARINE KILLS DY SHERIFF, 11 OTHERS IN CALIFORNIA BAR SHOOTING PAGE 13 /thetribunechd KOHLI TROLLED FOR ‘LEAVE INDIA’ REMARK PAGE 14 /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com MILITARY LITERATURE FESTIVAL - 2018 COMBAT EPISODES DISCUSSIONS Inviting veteran ofﬁcers & their families to share their Combat/War/Service experiences. 7th-9th DECEMBER, 2018 For more information turn to page 3 IN BRIEF 50-kg heroin seized from apple truck in Jammu Jammu: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has recovered 50 kg of heroin, valued at Rs 250 crore in the international market, from a Delhi-bound truck laden with apple boxes. During the last four months, three heroin consignments originating from Kashmir with a cumulative market value of Rs 800 crore have been seized. PAGE 10 Bangladesh goes to polls on Dec 23, to use EVMs Dhaka: Bangladesh will hold the general election on December 23 and for the first time will use electronic voting machines on a limited scale. Nearly 104.2 million people are registered to elect 300 representatives. BNP chief Khaleda Zia is unlikely to contest as she has been jailed for corruption and has virtually no time to appeal. Her party boycotted the last election in 2014, won by Awami League. PTI Soldier killed in Indian firing, says Pakistan Islamabad: A Pakistani soldier was killed in “unprovoked firing” by Indian troops along the Line of Control, the army said on Thursday. Sepoy Zaheer Ahmed was killed in Thub sector. PTI For more information turn to page 5 2-hr cracker limit goes up in smoke SC order brazenly flouted across countryI Delhi pollution almost double of 2017 Diwali New Delhi, November 8 A day after Diwali, many parts of the country were shrouded in haze on Thursday as pollution levels spiked to dangerous levels with several people celebrating the Festival of Lights with sound and lots of smoke in defiance of the Supreme Court’s two-hour limit for bursting firecrackers. There was anguish and searching questions on the yawning gap between the law and its enforcement as the sun struggled to shine through murky skies, particularly in the Delhi-NCR region, which recorded its worst air quality of the year. Pollution levels in the national capital and its surrounding areas entered the “severe-plus emergency” category owing to a toxic mix of firecrackers, local weather conditions and farm fires in neighbouring states. The Supreme Court had permitted the sale and manufacture of low-emission “green” firecrackers countrywide and fixed a two-hour period for bursting them. In gross viola- FIRs, ARRESTS APLENTY Ahead of PM’s visit, blast kills 5 in C’garh Four civilians, one CISF jawan dead ■ In Delhi, 579 cases were registered and more than 300 persons arrested on Diwali night for violating the apex court order. Delhi Police also seized 2,776 kg of firecrackers and arrested 87 persons for the illegal sale ■ Cases were registered under Section 188 of the IPC (disobedience of order). Those arrested were later granted bail ■ In Tamil Nadu, 2,190 cases were filed for bursting firecrackers outside the two-hour time slot, though no arrests were made since the offence was bailable in nature, a police official said PUNJAB ‘LESS POLLUTED’ ■ Krunesh Garg, member-secre- Commuters drive through smog at Rajpath the morning after Diwali in New Delhi on Thursday. MANAS RANJAN BHUI tion of the order, however, people burst firecrackers past midnight. Violations were also recorded in Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Chandigarh and various Punjab cities. In New Delhi, the air quality index (AQI) literally went off the charts at 642, several times over the permissible limit, according to data by the Centre-run SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research). In 2017, the AQI post Diwali was recorded at 367. While some people spoke of maintaining Diwali traditions, others bemoaned the callousness and ignorance of those who continued to burst crackers despite the Supreme Court’s directives. — PTI tary of the Punjab Pollution Control Board, said the Air Quality Index was recorded at 234 in the state, whereas it was 328 last Diwali ■ Ban was flouted with impunity in Amritsar and Ludhiana, but just over 10 FIRs were filed. Barnala recorded seven cases, while the Patiala police registered five FIRs The remains of a bus that was blown up by Maoist rebels. AP/PTI Raipur, November 8 Four civilians and a CISF jawan were killed in an IED blast inside a bus, suspected to be the handiwork of Naxals, in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Thursday, ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Jagdalpur district, about 100 km from Dantewada, on Friday to campaign for the BJP . Also, two personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) were injured in the third Naxal attack in 15 No wrongdoing: Ill at ease, students head home PC: Nov 19 day of CBI chief to CVC to Valley post Jalandhar arrests reckoning for RBI Asthana too meets Commissioner Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 8 Director of the CBI Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana on Thursday met Central Vigilance Commissioner KV Chowdary over allegations levelled against each other. The top CBI officers met Chowdary and Vigilance Commissioner Sharad Kumar separately. Sources said Verma reached the CVC office late afternoon and was there for about two hours. He refuted the charged levelled by his deputy, it is learnt. Both Asthana and Verma have been sent on leave by the government. The Central Vigilance Commission had recently examined CBI officials probing cru- cial cases mentioned by Asthana in his complaint against the CBI chief. Officials said CBI personnel from the rank of Inspector up to Superintendent of Police were called and their versions recorded. Among them were those who had handled the Moin Qureshi bribery case, the IRCTC scam involving former Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and the cattle smuggling case in which a senior BSF officer was caught with wands of cash. The Supreme Court had on October 26 given the CVC two weeks to complete its inquiry into Asthana’s charges against Verma under the supervision of retired top court judge Justice AK Patnaik which, it said, was a “one-time exception”. Maqsudan blast case accused in remand for 4 more days Ajay Joshi Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 8 Following the arrest of two Kashmiri students of St Soldier College here last week in connection with the Maqsudan police station blast case, students from the Valley have either vacated their paying guest (PG) accommodation or have gone on extended leave. A few, who have stayed back for examinations, are ill at ease. Manbir Singh, managingdirector of the CT Group of Institutions, says: “Many students went on leave immediately after the arrests. We persistently called up their parents, insisting that they send their wards back. There is bound to be a fall in the number of Kashmiri stu- dents seeking admission in Punjab colleges in the next academic session.” Living in a rented room at Surat Nagar, Tehleel, a BTech second-year student, says his family has asked him to rush back home. “We hardly move out of our room. We are afraid we will be stared at. The recent arrests have brought us all under the scanner.” Most students of St Soldier College reside in Surat Nagar and other localities near Maqsudan. The stepped-up police verification drive has left them intimidated. Some claim they have had to vacate their rooms with PG owners simply asking them to leave. Balwinder Kaur, a PG owner, explains: “It is natural to be alarmed when one learns about Kashmiri students’ ter- ror links. But the police verification drive has helped remove apprehensions.” However, the owner of a flour mill near a PG in the area admits the Kashmiris are looked upon with suspicion. “Each time a Kashmiri youth clicks pictures and calls over friends, we feel edgy.” Meanwhile, the remand of BTech students Shahid Qayoom and Fazil Bashir has been extended by four days. “We will try to get more details on how the two procured bombs and their handlers,” says Investigation Officer ACP Navneet Singh Mahal. According to the police, the two have confessed to have carried out the blasts and to being members of Kashmirbased Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH) led by Zakir Musa. Kolkata, November 8 Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday accused the Narendra Modi government of trying to capture the Reserve Bank of India to tide over its fiscal crisis, warning that any such move would be catastrophic. “The government stares at a fiscal-deficit crisis. It wants to step up the expenditure in election year. Finding all avenues closed, in desperation, it has demanded Rs 1 lakh crore from the reserves of RBI,” the former Union Finance Minister said. If RBI Governor Urjit Patel stands his ground, the Centre is planning to issue a direction under Section 7 of the RBI Act, 1934, directing the apex bank to transfer Rs 1 lakh crore to the government’s account, he claimed. ‘CATASTROPHIC’ If the RBI either defies the government, or the RBI Governor resigns, in either event, the consequences will be catastrophic. ❝ P Chidambaram, SENIOR CONG LEADER Section 7 gives special powers to the government to issue directions to the RBI Governor on issues of public interest. Chidambaram alleged that the government had packed the bank’s board with handpicked nominees and was making every attempt to push through its proposals at the RBI board meeting on November 19. — PTI days in the poll-bound state. The IED explosion took place in a hilly area in Bacheli, about 450 km from here, when the CISF personnel were returning to their camp in Akashnagar after purchasing groceries, Dantewada SP Abhishek Pallava said. “The Naxals triggered a powerful IED blast, killing a CISF jawan, the bus driver, conductor, cleaner and another person, who is yet to be identified,” he said. continued on page 11 India to attend Taliban talks, at ‘non-official’ level New Delhi, November 8 In a first, India will be a participant in multilateral talks with the Afghan Taliban in the same room, but at a “non-official level”. Russia will be hosting discussion on Afghanistan and steps towards political reconciliation in the war-torn country for the second time on Friday. The talks, previously scheduled in September, were postponed after the Ashraf Ghani government pulled out, calling it “unnecessary” in view of the Taliban’s rejection of “peace and direct negotiations”. The meeting will bring together deputy foreign ministers and special representatives from 12 countries, including Iran, China, Pakistan and the US . “India supports all efforts at peace and reconciliation,” the MEA said. — TNS For first time, Ajay, Abhay sit separately for ‘Ram-Rami’ Postal official dupes 300 villagers Family feud makes Chautala brothers break with tradition to greet people at different venues Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 8 The family feud in the INLD has not just remained a political row, but seems to have driven a permanent wedge in the Chautala clan as for the first time ever, Ajay Singh and Abhay Singh Chautala on Thursday accepted greetings of “Ram-Rami” sitting at two separate venues. “Ram-Rami” is a prominent event observed by the Jat community in Haryana and nearby Rajasthan a day after Diwali when younger people visit Ajay Singh Chautala meets supporters (left) in Sirsa and Abhay Singh Chautala at Tejakhera farmhouse. their elders in the village, including parents and grandparents, to seek blessings. Since former Deputy PM Devi Lal’s time, it has been a tradition in the Chautala clan that all male members would sit on the lawns of their ancestral Tejakhera farmhouse in Sirsa, as the INLD supporters from across Haryana visited them to wish “Ram-Rami” for Diwali festival. However, the scene was entirely different this time, as while Abhay Singh accepted greetings from supporters at the farmhouse, his elder brother Ajay Singh met followers in his Sirsa residence. Sources said both Ajay Singh as well as his MP son Dushyant Chautala went to the main chowk of Tejakhera village where a statue of Chaudhary Devi Lal stands in the early hours and came back after paying homage to him. The father-son duo did not visit the Tejakhera farmhouse, owned by patriarch Om Prakash Chautala. continued on page 7 Sumedha Sharma Tribune News Service Gurugram, November 8 A senior postal official of Pataudi is wanted for allegedly duping over 300 villagers of Rs 40 lakh in the name of opening savings accounts. The accused, identified as Govind, was posted as assistant postmaster in Khod village. He has allegedly been absconding for many days. The accused had allegedly opened their savings accounts and issued passbooks in 2015, but had been keeping their instalments with him ever since. It was his prolonged absence that high- ‘Opened recurring deposits, but no accounts in name’ lighted that the accounts were never officially started. In his complaint, Khod village resident Ramphal told the police, “He (Govind) opened recurring deposit accounts in 2015 and we had been contributing to it ever since. In front of us, he would make entries in the passbook, stamp it and keep it with himself for the next transaction. We never doubted him. But he did not turn up for several months after his transfer. When we enquired about our savings from the new staff, we got to know there were no accounts in our name. He took over Rs 40 lakh from 300 persons like me.” An FIR has been registered against Govind under Sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the IPC at the Pataudi police station. “We have registered a case. We sought the record from the post office, but did not find any details of these account holders,” said Inspector Jai Prakash Yadav, SHO of Pataudi police station.

The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
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